Gallery 1aA Historical
Perspective on Gifts to the United States of America

The
Treaty of Amity and Commerce, 1833

The
Smithsonian Institution’s collection of Thai Royal Gifts to the Presidents
and people of the United States are an important part of the diplomatic
history of our two nations.Siam (now the Kingdom of Thailand) was the
first Asian nation to sign a treaty with the United States.

Following
soon after British envoy Henry Burney's successful 1829 mission to Siam,
American special agent Edmund Roberts, who had been sent to Bangkok
by President Andrew Jackson, arrived in Siam in February 1833 aboard
the frigate USS Peacock. His mission was to negotiate a treaty
of friendship and commerce.

The exchange of gifts of state was an important
part of such missions, and Edmund Roberts prepared the American gifts
carefully. Unfortunately, due to the delay of the ship carrying the
gifts of the President, the Peacock was forced to leave port
without the official gifts and he had to settle for giving the king
inferior trade goods from China, while waiting for the official gifts.Roberts in turn received a gift on behalf of
the US that was strange to him, a collection of riches from the rain
forests of Thailand, a gift that he summarily dismissed in his journal.

Nevertheless,
as a result of the Roberts mission, a long-lasting friendship was formally
established between the two nations. H.M. King Nang Klao, Rama III (r.1824-1851)
oversaw this treaty between the United States and Thailand, which became
known as the "Roberts Treaty" or “Treaty of Amity and Commerce”
of 1833. Unfortunately, because of
a cultural misunderstanding, and because ofthe
perishable nature of that royal gift (a collection of rare rainforest
products),the Royal Gifts were
not retained by the US government. Happily, history has left us with
a list of those items.

In his journal, Roberts wrote,
"Yesterday and today a variety of presents was sent to the Envoy, from
the

Note: The original
Royal Gifts accompanying the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, such as raw
elephant ivory and plant products, have not survived in collections. Later
gifts, such as these decorative pandanus mat,woven betel basket, and hand-worked
elephant ivory (from a fan handle), are illustrated here.